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'Modern Family' Cast: Favorite Episodes

As the ABC comedy heads into the series' fourth season Sept. 26, its stars reflect on their top moments -- some touching, some telling, some utterly outrageous -- from the hit show's 72 episodes to date.

ED O'NEILL

Previously Best Known For: Fox's Married … With ChildrenFavorite Modern Family Episode: Season 1, "Hawaii"

"The hammock scene in the "Hawaii" episode was pure hysteria. Ty goes looking for me and finds me in this hammock, and because my back has gone into a spasm, I can't get out of it. Next thing we know, he's laying on top of me, and I say, "Don't move," because now I'm in pain. The hammock starts to rock, and all you hear are these creaking sounds. We're almost nose-to-nose. We were laughing so hard that our sound man up above fell out of a cabana."

SOFIA VERGARA

Previously Best Known For: ABC's The Knights of ProsperityFavorite Modern Family Episode: Season 1, "Hawaii"; Season 3, "Dude Ranch"

"I love all of the trips. We work, of course, but since the whole cast is in the same hotel, it's like a big vacation. Really, I love all of it because I'm new to acting, and every time I'm on set, I'm learning. Chris and Steve have good energy, and they understand how to talk to each of us. Chris even talks to me with my accent -- well, everyone does my accent, but he does it really well. I didn't know he was doing it at first; I just knew I could understand him better."

TY BURRELL

Previously Best Known For: CBS' Out of PracticeFavorite Modern Family Episode: Season 1, "The Pilot"

"Nothing is ever going to have more of an impression on me than the pilot because there were so many emotions that came with it and so much buildup. I was filming a movie called Morning Glory in New York the day they screened it at the upfront. I got in a cab and zipped up to Lincoln Center just in time to hear Steve McPherson introduce it. People really responded so well to it, and I just thought, "Oh wow, maybe this is one that people are going to watch."

JESSE TYLER FERGUSON

Previously Best Known For: CBS' The ClassFavorite Modern Family Episode: Season 3, "Baby on Board"

"The writers took a risk in going sad with Cam and Mitchell and letting them show emotion when they don't get their baby. It took the show to a different place, and we got to show the downside of going through the adoption process. Ty tried to adopt for so long before he and his wife were lucky enough to get their first, and I saw the disappointment that they went through. I don't know that that story had ever been told, so I was happy we were brave enough."

ERIC STONESTREE

Previously Best Known For: CBS' CSI (guest arc)Favorite Modern Family Episode: Season 1, 'Fizbo'

"I loved the "Fizbo" episode, and I was fortunate enough to win the Emmy for it. It was very personal. All I ever wanted to be growing up was a clown in the circus, so it was really a full-circle moment for me. I mean, having an episode of primetime television named after a goofy clown character you played when you were 11 years old in Kansas is a pretty big "wow" moment."

ARIEL WINTER & SARAH HYLAND

Favorite Modern Family Episode: Season 3, "Disneyland" (Winter) & Season 2, "Halloween" (Hyland)

"I was pining for the older man, who happened to be Sarah Hyland's [real-life] boyfriend. Although it was slightly awkward because we were fighting over her boyfriend," says Winter of the "Disneyland" episode. Hyland loved "Halloween": "It was the only time where I've ever truly broken character and have not been able to get back in it because I was laughing so hard. Just looking at Ed's face made me laugh. It was so much fun to shoot."

JULIE BOWEN

Previously Best Known For: NBC's EdFavorite Modern Family Episode: Season 3, "The Last Walt"

"I read the Walt dying episode where Claire keeps smiling every time she tells somebody Walt is dead, and I thought, "That is so freaking funny, but there's no way I can do this." It was a Chris Lloyd episode, and he and Steve have very different ways of running a set. Chris sort of lets me go in the corner and turn in circles and say, "I can't do it." He'll sort of go, "Hmm, you're right, you can't," and he'll walk away, which always breaks the tension for me."

NOLAN GOULD & RICO RODRIGUEZ

Favorite Modern Family Episode: Season 1, "Travels With Scout" (Gould) & Season 3, "Virgin Territory" (Rodriguez)

"I loved the episode where I ran into a screen door repeatedly. I think our writers often take their frustration with their own kids out on me because they're always making me do crazy things," says Gould. Rodriguez was a big fan of the episode in which Manny takes the wheel: "It was so much fun because it was just Nolan and me pretending that we were driving with Jay-Z's 'Big Pimpin' ' playing in the background. The car was never on."